1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of containerized materials. More particularly, it pertains to a dispensing cap system for use with tubes and other squeezable containers of viscous or non-Newtonian material, such as ointments, salves and balms, to dispense them in an accurate and easily handled manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of ointments, salves and balms on cuts, scratches and burns is a matter of historical note. There is not a person living today that has not had an injury treated with a petroleum jelly-based material. As medicine progresses, we find that petroleum jelly and other like substances are used to apply more sophisticated medicines, such as antibiotics and steroids, as treatment for a wide variety of ills. In the field of pharmacology, ointments, salves and balms, carrying a wide variety of these medicines, old and new, are being used to cure or alleviate the symptoms of ear infections and other maladies where the material must be applied in a specific amount and at a specific location.
In the field of veterinary science, application of petroleum-based medicines are important in the treatment of ear infections, eye infections, and the like where specific amounts of material must be applied in a controlled time-sequence so that the treatment is efficient as well as effective. In some cases these medicines are expensive and if used in too large an amount constitutes a waste of the medicine as well as a waste of money. It is important therefore to be able to provide the appropriate amount of a medicine at a specific location so that medicine is not wasted and the results of the treatment justify the cost involved.
Specifically, small tubes of ointment are often prescribed to a patient for treatment of a malady such as an ear infection. It is virtually impossible to control or measure the amount of ointment to be applied even if the amount was known to the treater beforehand. Often too much ointment is used with the result that the tube is used up too fast and another tube must be procured. With certain medicines the cost per tube is great so that the inability to measure the amount results in a significant waste of money.
Further, in certain cases, such as in farm animals, it is inappropriate to take the tube or squeezable container to the field to treat the animal because of the chance that the tube will be dropped, stepped on, or otherwise contaminated. It would be more efficient to be able to take a dose of the material out to the field and apply it free of the basic supply tube.
The prior art has tried to deal with this problem, however, no clear path of success has been achieved. Basically, the prior art has provided caps that fit over squeezable bottles of liquids or balms and have a volumetric measure in the form of a cup that is mounted on the cap in a sliding connection. The bottle is squeezed and it is hoped that the liquid contents will exit the bottle and fill the cup. The cup must be then removed from the bottle and somehow emptied into another container, such as a glass or cup, to be thereafter given to the person or animal as treatment. In one case, a piston is reciprocally positioned in a device mounted above the squeezable tube and is driven upward by material flowing or squeezed from the container, to be later squeezed by pressing down on the piston to drive the material out a small hole in the side of the device. However, such a device is comprised of numerous parts that must be assembled thus making the device expensive. The piston tends to leak thus making the device potentially messy. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,734,350, 4,875,603 and 5,184,760 are examples of these prior art practices.